Lyric’s community engagement and education arm, Lyric Unlimited, will partner with the Urban League...

]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 13:27:00 PDTHaymarket Opera to present modern premiere of French baroque rarityJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-classical-haymarket-preview-0927-story.html
Suddenly, early opera is all the rage in Chicago.

The rare French version of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” is delighting audiences at Lyric Opera, in the company’s first-ever collaboration with the Joffrey Ballet.

In little more than two weeks, conductor John Eliot Gardiner will...

]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 11:00:00 PDT'Monday Night Live' at Petterino's celebrates a landmark anniversaryHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-jazz-mondays-0927-story.html
If you didn’t know better, you might have guessed it was New Year’s Eve at Petterino’s on Monday night. Champagne flowed, glasses were raised, music filled the room.

But as far as the evening’s performers were concerned, this was bigger than merely another turn of the calendar. For the musicians...

]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 10:10:00 PDTMetz provokes with punishing volleys at Thalia HallBob Gendronhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-metz-review-0927-story.html
If music could leave visual marks, everyone watching Metz at Thalia Hall on Monday would have departed with black-and-blue bruises in addition to their ringing eardrums. The Canadian trio’s hourlong set came across as a study in visceral physicality and a demonstration of the volatile relationship...
]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 08:15:00 PDTMovie star Dennis Quaid wants to rock, and win over skeptics with his bandAllison Stewarthttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-dennis-quaid-0929-story.html
When Dennis Quaid was growing up in Houston, his grandfather bought him a guitar from Kmart, on which he first learned to play the Doors' "Light My Fire." "It was all about getting girls," says Quaid, "because I was too small to make the football team."

Quaid, 63, went on to an underrated career...

]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 07:40:00 PDT'Game of Thrones' Live Concert Experience coming to Allstate Arena in 2018Jessi Rotihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-game-of-thrones-concert-experience-live-0926-story.html
The worlds of Westeros and Essos are headed to arenas across the globe in 2018.

“Game of Thrones” Live Concert Experience featuring the hit HBO series’ composer Ramin Djawadi will stop at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena Oct. 6, after dates across the United States and Europe.

Fans will have the opportunity...

]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 10:35:00 PDTRobert Plant announces tour, will play Riviera Theatre in 2018Associated Presshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-robert-plant-2018-tour-dates-20170926-story.html
Robert Plant is going on tour in North America next year to support his upcoming album, "Carry Fire."

The former Led Zeppelin frontman announced Tuesday that his 2018 tour will begin Feb. 9 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He will perform in Chicago at the Riviera Theatre on Feb. 20. He'll also visit...

]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 08:33:00 PDTWatch Chance the Rapper debut new song on 'The Late Show'Tracy Swartzhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-chance-the-rapper-late-show-20170926-story.html
Chance the Rapper debuted a new song Monday on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that gives a glimpse into how the Chicago rapper’s busy year of performing at festivals and winning Grammys has affected him.

Chance said he was planning to perform an outtake from his “Coloring Book” project, which...

]]>Tue, 26 Sep 2017 05:40:00 PDTThousands pack Charlottesville stadium for unity concertAssociated Presshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-dave-matthews-band-charlottesville-unity-concert-20170925-story.html
Thousands of people packed a stadium in Charlottesville Sunday for a concert intended to raise money for charity and promote unity in the aftermath of this summer's white nationalist rallies.

Dave Matthews, whose band got its start in the Virginia college town, hosted the show and thanked the attendees...

]]>Mon, 25 Sep 2017 07:45:00 PDTChance the Rapper set to return to 'The Late Show' MondayTracy Swartzhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-chance-the-rapper-stephen-colbert-20170925-story.html
Chance the Rapper and Stephen Colbert are together again — after a week-long hiatus.

The Chicago rapper is scheduled to chat with Colbert and perform Monday on “The Late Show." The appearance comes about a week after Chance helped kick off the Emmy Awards telecast with television-themed verses...

It’s a dream in many senses: a modern take on the Orpheus and Euridice myth that plumbs the recesses of the heart through an inspired intertwining of...

]]>Sun, 24 Sep 2017 08:40:00 PDTScorpions, Megadeth celebrate high-octane histories at Allstate ArenaBob Gendronhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-scorpions-megadeth-review-0925-story.html
“You wanna know who I am?” Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine asked a sold-out crowd Saturday at Allstate Arena. His reply — “I’m in a rock ’n’ roll band” — served as a badge of honor the group wore with pride throughout a 100-minute show that celebrated live traditions long thought outmoded.

Drum...

]]>Sun, 24 Sep 2017 07:15:00 PDTHyde Park Jazz Fest animates a neighborhoodHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-hyde-park-fest-0925-story.html
Two world premieres, one piano colossus, a brilliant look at Thelonious Monk and a couple of vibraphonists swinging hard in a house of worship.

]]>Sun, 24 Sep 2017 07:25:00 PDTCharles Bradley dead, soul icon sang the life he ledGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-charles-bradley-obit-0923-story.html
Every time Charles Bradley stepped on stage with a microphone, his broad, expressive face was a picture of conflict: weariness, joy, pain, desperation. He would dance, spin and strut, his clothes saturated in sweat. Never mind that he was well into his 60s, a time when most performers were easing...
]]>Sat, 23 Sep 2017 12:45:00 PDTMuti, Mutter open CSO season on a familiar noteJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-cso-muti-one-review-0925-story.html
Most Chicago Symphony Orchestra gala performances are predictable affairs, short and sweet programs that place few demands on orchestra players or audience members. The Symphony Ball concert with which Riccardo Muti and the CSO began the 2017-18 season Friday night at Symphony Center was no exception....
]]>Sat, 23 Sep 2017 08:50:00 PDTMoses Sumney's debut 'Aromanticism' built to hauntGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-moses-sumney-album-review-20170922-story.html
On a self-released EP last year, Moses Sumney titled one of his songs “Everlasting Sigh,” which also serves as a pretty good description of his one-of-a-kind sound. After years of small, carefully articulated recordings and one-man shows, Sumney has finally released his long-gestating debut album,...
]]>Fri, 22 Sep 2017 08:35:00 PDTMorrissey headed to Chicago for 'Low in High School' tourDarcel Rocketthttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-morrissey-low-in-high-school-tour-20170922-story.html
He's in, he's out.

And now, Morrissey looks to be in again for a U.S. tour.

This time, the former Smiths frontman is slated to do a 16-city tour this fall, which will bring him to Chicago's Riviera Theatre on November 25, 2017.

The shows will coincide with Morrissey's latest endeavor, "Low in High...

]]>Fri, 22 Sep 2017 13:17:00 PDTJoffrey Ballet moving performances to Lyric Opera House in 2020John von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-joffrey-lyric-residency-0923-story.html
In a major cooperative effort by the city’s leading producers of ballet and opera, the Joffrey Ballet and Lyric Opera of Chicago announced Friday that the dance company will move its season residencies from the Auditorium Theatre to the Lyric Opera House, beginning in fall 2020.

The venue shift,...

]]>Fri, 22 Sep 2017 09:00:00 PDTAfter Semisonic, songwriter Dan Wilson is usually someone else's genius (like Adele)Steve Knopperhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-dan-wilson-0922-story.html
Dan Wilson noticed something curious about Adele. On live recordings of the smash they wrote together, "Someone Like You," the British pop superstar frequently avoids the impossible high notes she nailed so beautifully in the 2011 original. Wilson, the prolific songwriter and former Semisonic and...
]]>Thu, 21 Sep 2017 11:15:00 PDTHideout revives block party as small but potentGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-hideout-block-party-0922-story.html
The Hideout, the little-bar-that-could in the Chicago music scene, is celebrating its 21st anniversary this weekend with the return of its summer-ending block party. But this ostensibly feel-good story has some yellow flags attached.

The block party nearly went away for good when the club owners...

]]>Thu, 21 Sep 2017 08:00:00 PDTYour guide to the Hyde Park Jazz FestivalHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-jazz-scene-0922-story.html
In 2007, when a group of South Side visionaries launched the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, they hoped to bring long overdue attention to a neighborhood rich in jazz history.

“There are so many people in Chicago who simply don’t go south of Roosevelt Road,” James Wagner, one of the co-founders of the...

]]>Thu, 21 Sep 2017 10:10:00 PDTPatrick Haggerty has a story that's better than yours, even Hollywood thinks soAllison Stewarthttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-lavender-country-0922-story.html
Three years ago, no one had heard of Lavender Country frontman Patrick Haggerty. Now, he's contemplating who might play him in the movie of his life, currently in the early stages of development in Hollywood.

It's the role of somebody's lifetime, the story of a dairy farmer's kid in the 1950s who...

]]>Thu, 21 Sep 2017 10:20:00 PDTPachanga comes to Subterranean to celebrate Latino artists, culture in ChicagoNereida Morenohttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-pachanga-music-0922-story.html
Cumbia music blasted from the speakers at Subterranean on a recent Friday night for a special edition of Pachanga, a monthly dance party showcasing Latino artists and musicians.

The event is normally hosted at East Room in Logan Square, but organizers Daniel Martinez and Memo Duarte jumped at the...

]]>Thu, 21 Sep 2017 10:25:00 PDTSen Morimoto's music is therapy that we get to hearBritt Julioushttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-chicago-music-local-sounds-0922-story.html
“The issue I have with making my own music is because it’s so much of yourself, you just get tired of yourself,” said Sen Morimoto. The musician, who performs as Moimoto and also produces music for other artists, has been hard at work on a full-length album, which he anticipates releasing sometime...
]]>Thu, 21 Sep 2017 10:20:00 PDTLocal bands you should see this fallBritt Julioushttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-fall-local-music-0922-story.html
Winter is coming. Listen to Luggage to get into the mood of the season. This angular, post-punk group creates cold, barren sonic landscapes that will put listeners right in the thick of the long nights and isolation of mid-January. And despite the name of its latest album, “SUN,” the eight-track...
]]>Thu, 21 Sep 2017 10:15:00 PDTVic Mensa to join Jay-Z's '4:44 Tour'Jessi Rotihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-vic-mensa-joining-jay-z-tour-0920-story.html
After surprising folks at Lollapalooza, then performing at last weekend’s Riot Fest, it doesn’t appear that rapper Vic Mensa is planning to slow down any time soon.

It was announced Wednesday that Mensa will join Jay-Z on his “4:44 Tour” as its opening act.

Mensa, who is signed to Jay’s Roc Nation...

]]>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 11:15:00 PDTTrashed and abused: What's left after a music festival endsChristopher Borrellihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-left-behind-fest-0920-story.html
The summer music festival season is done. Last weekend’s Riot Fest in Douglas Park marked the unofficial close. Perhaps you would like to know what you left behind?

In July, at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park, for example, you left behind a coconut. It was last seen against a chain-link...

]]>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 11:05:00 PDTBob Dylan 'Bootleg Series Vol. 13' to highlight his 1979-81 'Christian period'Randy Lewishttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-bob-dylan-bootleg-series-13-christian-box-set-20170920-story.html
Bob Dylan’s so-called Christian period in the late '70s and early ’80s is the focal point for the next installment in the ongoing “Bootleg Series” of archival releases, with the deluxe box set featuring eight CDs and one DVD that bring to light a raft of live recordings from his tours of that era...
]]>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 07:00:00 PDTA brief history of President Trump and Elton JohnSarah Polushttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-elton-john-trumo-rocket-man-20170919-story.html
President Donald Trump likes nicknames and Elton John. Those two facts collided this week when Trump dubbed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "Rocket Man," in what most believe is an obvious reference to John's 1972 hit of the same name.

Twenty years ago this month, Carey released "Butterfly." The album, which hit shelves Sept. 16, 1997, marked a pivotal moment in Carey's career,...

]]>Tue, 19 Sep 2017 11:18:00 PDTMusic of Mali wafts into a Chicago public schoolHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-jazz-nicole-mitchell-0920-story.html
Many musicians have performed for students at Smith Elementary School, on East 103rd Street, but none quite like the visitors who appeared Monday morning.

For they brought with them music of their homeland: Mali.

They came to Smith in the company of eminent flutist Nicole Mitchell, who years ago...

]]>Tue, 19 Sep 2017 09:25:00 PDTLyric and Joffrey combine for a new 'Orphee'John von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-classical-lyric-orphee-preview-0920-story.html
Ballet has long been relegated to a supporting role in opera, a purely decorative gloss on the singing, orchestral playing and dramatic action in those instances when composers have deigned to include dance at all.

But that situation has been turned on its head in recent decades as opera companies...

]]>Tue, 19 Sep 2017 11:00:00 PDTVH1's 'Hip Hop Honors' looks to '90s nostalgiaGerrick D. Kennedyhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hip-hop-honors-20170918-story.html
A back lot at Paramount Studios shook from the bass of classic rap records pumping through speakers as members of the crowd picked up free bandannas, sunglasses and faux gold chains.

The strip of brownstones and storefronts that often stand in for New York — or whatever metropolis filmmakers see...

]]>Mon, 18 Sep 2017 16:00:00 PDTLinkin Park to perform tribute show for Chester BenningtonAssociated Presshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-linkin-park-chester-bennington-tribute-20170918-story.html
Linkin Park will play a one-night-only concert in tribute to late lead singer Chester Bennington.

Warner Bros. Records says the show will take place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Oct. 27.

It's the first time that Linkin Park will perform since Bennington's July 20 death.

Warner Bros....

]]>Mon, 18 Sep 2017 10:40:00 PDTRiot Fest got its formula just rightKevin Williams, Jessi Rotihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-riot-fest-post-roundup-0918-story.html
If Riot Fest had a poster child, it would be Ben Frietsch. The Cincinnati resident, all gray beard and punk fervor, has been waiting to see Bad Brains since 1990. Frietsch finally had his dream come true Saturday at the annual punk rock blowout in Douglas Park.

He is the person Riot Fest is made...

]]>Sun, 17 Sep 2017 12:25:00 PDTQueens of the Stone Age shimmy at Riot FestGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-riot-fest-queens-of-the-stone-age-20170915-story.html
About midway through its headlining set Saturday at Riot Fest in Douglas Park, Queens of the Stone Age dropped the tempo a notch for the hip-swaying “Make It Wit Chu.”

The song has some of the hallmarks of a late ’60s boogie blooze outfit like Savoy Brown or Canned Heat, but it’s confident and...

]]>Sun, 17 Sep 2017 02:35:00 PDTRiot Fest, Day One: Sun, heat and noiseKevin Williams, Jessi Rotihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-riot-fest-2017-opening-20170915-story.html
Another year, another Riot Fest, the music festival for grownups and the bands they loved as youngsters.

There is one fewer stage this year, from six to five, and the kind of weather that makes you think the event organizers made a deal with the punk devil. Temperatures are hovering in the mid-80s,...

]]>Sat, 16 Sep 2017 14:40:00 PDTMusic of the Baroque opens season with emotional ‘Elijah’Alan G. Artnerhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-mob-elijah-review-0918-story.html
Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elijah” is a relic of the Victorian period that has retained a special place among choral directors despite its fall from widespread initial popularity.

In the 1980s, adherents began taking an unconventional view that emphasized the work’s dramatic qualities over its...

]]>Sun, 17 Sep 2017 07:55:00 PDTU2, Ed Sheeran cancel St. Louis show due to protestsAssociated Presshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-u2-cancels-st-louis-show-protests-20170916-story.html
A second major act has canceled a concert in downtown St. Louis in the wake of protests over the acquittal of a white former police officer charged in the killing of a black suspect.

English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran's sold-out Sunday night show at the Scottrade Center was canceled for the same...

]]>Sat, 16 Sep 2017 15:51:00 PDTPolished Haim lets loose at the RivieraAlthea Legaspihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-haim-review-0917-20170911-story.html
"This is my favorite part of the set because I let everything go," keyboardist-guitarist Alana Haim remarked before sibling group Haim launched into "My Song 5" at a sold-out Riviera Theatre show on Friday. "Let it out," she told the audience, encouraging everyone to join in. Not that fans, who...
]]>Sat, 16 Sep 2017 08:25:00 PDTAbbey Pub subject of TV’s ‘Back to the Bar’Rick Koganhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-abbey-pub-back-to-the-bar-20170915-story.html
Those of you have missed the Abbey Pub since it closed following a November, 2015 fire have a chance to revisit this lively and music-filled Northwest Side institution on Sunday at 9 p.m. in a new episode of Spike TV’s “Back to the Bar,” a spinoff of its popular “Bar Rescue” program.

That latter...

]]>Fri, 15 Sep 2017 11:23:00 PDTGreg Kot's Mavis Staples book is the latest pick for 'One Book, One Chicago'Rick Koganhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ae-one-book-0917-story.html
Mavis Staples, who is to music what Michael Jordan was to basketball, holds center stage in the acclaimed book by the Tribune’s longtime rock music critic Greg Kot.

It’s titled “I'll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers and the Music that Shaped the Civil Rights Era" (Scribner) and,...

]]>Fri, 15 Sep 2017 10:00:00 PDTAll-star band Filthy Friends finds tentative musical accord on 'Invitation'Greg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-filthy-friends-review-0915-story.html
R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker were mutual admirers of each other’s bands since the ’90s, so some kind of collaboration seemed inevitable down the road. Now “Invitation” (Kill Rock Stars), the debut album by their new band Filthy Friends, has finally arrived.

Buck and Tucker,...

]]>Fri, 15 Sep 2017 08:55:00 PDTYusuf/Cat Stevens taps classic sound in new 'The Laughing Apple' albumRandy Lewishttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-yusuf-cat-stevens-laughing-apple-new-album-20170915-story.html
An inescapable sense of foreboding runs through “Blackness of the Night,” the opening track from “The Laughing Apple,” the new album by Yusuf, aka Cat Stevens.

“In the blackness of the night I seem to wander endlessly, with a hope burning out deep inside,” Yusuf sings in the same soft, gravelly...

]]>Fri, 15 Sep 2017 05:00:00 PDTTed Leo — the song does not remain the sameGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-ted-leo-0915-story.html
Ted Leo had been making records for more than two decades when his career took a turn toward the unknown a few years ago. He was falling out with his old record label and was now in his 40s, a time when many rockers start to run on artistic fumes.

But “Crossing Time,” the program she offered in its Chicago premiere Wednesday evening at Davenport’s, steered clear of any such dramatic device. Instead it...

]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 07:40:00 PDTOh Wonder is failing at the whole anonymity thingSteve Knopperhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-oh-wonder-ultralife-0913-story.html
After a show in Montauk, N.Y., London singer-songwriter duo Oh Wonder grabbed breakfast in a small town en route to the airport. A young fan immediately recognized Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht from their recent album cover "Ultralife" and sat down with them. "Oh my God, why the hell...
]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 09:15:00 PDTAAHH! Fest canceled; return planned for 2018Jessi Rotihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-aahh-fest-canceled-common-0914-story.html
Rapper Common’s AAHH! Fest has been canceled, citing a need to “retool” the initiative to “create an experience that goes far beyond an outdoor music event.”

The announcement was made on Twitter and the fest’s official website, with a promise to return in September 2018.

AAHH! Fest was set to take...

]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 10:35:00 PDTApocalyptica uses cellos to make metal ripChrissie Dickinsonhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-apocalyptica-cello-metal-0915-story.html
Eicca Toppinen vividly recalls the audience reaction when his band Apocalyptica played its first gig in a Helsinki nightclub in 1995. The house went crazy when the classically trained Finnish cello ensemble played a set of songs by the titanic metal band Metallica.

"The crowd was all pure metal...

]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 09:15:00 PDTHusker Du's Grant Hart dies at 56Greg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-grant-hart-husker-du-dead-20170914-story.html
Here’s what many casual rock fans may not know about Husker Du: Even if you took away Bob Mould’s songs and just kept Grant Hart’s, you’d still have a great band — one of the most important and influential of the last 40 years.

Hart, who died Thursday at 56 of cancer, was Husker Du’s protean drummer...

Those fans were hoping to catch a glimpse of or last-minute tickets to see musician and visual artist Solange (Knowles) in discussion with writer and essayist...

]]>Wed, 13 Sep 2017 21:55:00 PDTRecommended Chicago-area classical concertsJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-classical-corner-0915-story.html
Chicago Sinfonietta: True its mission of diversity and collaboration, the orchestra begins its 30th anniversary season with all manner of novelties. Music director Mei-Ann Chen will kick off a season-long salute to women composers with premieres by Jessie Montgomery and Clarice Assad, and there...
]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 09:55:00 PDTRiot Fest 2017: Our guide to the weekend's best betsGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-riot-fest-guide-0915-story.html
Riot Fest returns to Douglas Park this weekend with dozens of bands arrayed across five stages over three days. Here’s a quick guide to some of each day’s highlights: Friday

The pilot, James Evan Robinson, reported shortly after takeoff Friday that the aircraft...

]]>Wed, 13 Sep 2017 13:43:00 PDTHow the 'Hand in Hand' hurricane telethon turned surprisingly politicalMikael Woodhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hand-in-hand-hurricane-telethon-20170912-story.html
As though their star power could restore the electricity to storm-ravaged cities across the South, celebrities of all stripes gathered Tuesday evening for “Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief,” which aired live on the major television networks and was streamed across various social media...
]]>Tue, 12 Sep 2017 20:00:00 PDTMOB enters new era with a bold pick for its chief executive jobJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-classical-mob-0913-story.html
Can a former BBC music producer who recently moved to Chicago to take on the first executive directorship of his career keep one of the area’s major performing arts organizations humming artistically and financially as it nears its half-century?

The question is worth asking as Declan McGovern begins...

]]>Tue, 12 Sep 2017 11:05:00 PDTAnd then there were two: TLC carries on without 'Left Eye'Allison Stewarthttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-tlc-waterfalls-left-eye-0915-story.html
In the 1990s, R&B trio TLC was the most successful girl group in America, a title it still holds. Its hit albums ("CrazySexyCool, "FanMail") sold tens of millions of copies, a feat unthinkable today. For Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, the ride was tumultuous:...
]]>Tue, 12 Sep 2017 09:00:00 PDTThe Cell Phones in it for the long haulBritt Julioushttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-chicago-music-cell-phones-0915-story.html
“It’s like another appendage, I feel, in my head,” said Lindsey Charles, singer and songwriter for the beloved Chicago band The Cell Phones.

The Cell Phones are not a new band (it’s been together going on 10 years), but that doesn't mean it isn’t surprising audiences and itself. The trio — Justin...

Having presented the music in this city since 1947, when he was a student at Roosevelt College (now Roosevelt University), Segal clearly would have stories to tell, insights to share, jazz history to put to...

]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 07:30:00 PDTSmithsonian honors Sting for musical and philanthropic contributions to American cultureRandy Lewishttp://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-entertainment-news-updates-sting-honored-by-smithsonian-for-music-1505148338-htmlstory.html
Sting was honored Friday by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History for his musical and his philanthropic contributions to American culture.

The English singer, songwriter and former frontman for the Police donated the 1978 Fender Stratocaster on which he wrote several...

]]>Mon, 11 Sep 2017 13:42:00 PDTChicago Symphony names new development VPJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-cso-development-david-chambers-0912-story.html
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association announced Monday the appointment of David Chambers, an experienced, Australian-born arts administrator who most recently served as chief development officer of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, as its new vice president for development, effective Oct. 23....
]]>Mon, 11 Sep 2017 12:40:00 PDTBob Dylan to play first concert at new DePaul hoops arena in ChicagoTracy Swartzhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-bob-dylan-wintrust-arena-20170911-story.html
Bob Dylan will play the inaugural concert at the new arena by McCormick Place, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Monday.

Chicago native Mavis Staples is slated to join Dylan at the Oct. 27 concert at Wintrust Arena. The concert is part of Dylan’s fall U.S. tour, which is scheduled to kick off in Southern...

]]>Mon, 11 Sep 2017 08:45:00 PDTMavis Staples confronts Trump's America on 'If All I Was Was Black'Jem Aswadhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-mavis-staples-if-all-i-was-was-black-20170911-story.html
Legendary soul singer Mavis Staples addresses the country's social climate head-on with her new album, "If All I Was Was Black," out on Nov. 17. The album is her third collaboration with songwriter-producer and Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy.

Hear the album's title track, which features lyrics written...

]]>Mon, 11 Sep 2017 10:00:00 PDTBob Seger announces 'Runaway Train Tour;' wraps in Chicago in NovemberJessi Rotihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-bob-seger-runaway-train-tour-0908-story.html
Roots-rocker Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet band have announced the extension of their “Runaway Train Tour.” The 30-date tour will wrap up at Allstate Arena November 17.

Additional dates were also announced for Oakland/San Francisco, Ca.; Boise, Portland, St. Paul and Seattle.

While Seger hasn’t...

]]>Fri, 8 Sep 2017 07:50:00 PDTThe National refreshes its sound on 'Sleep Well Beast'Greg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-the-national-album-review-0908-story.html
On its previous six albums, the National evolved into a sound distinctly its own. The sonic imprint has been in place for a decade: moody atmospherics, confessional baritone vocals, simmer-to-a-boil dynamics.

It led to a consistency that bordered on predictable. But the four-year break since the...

]]>Fri, 8 Sep 2017 09:14:00 PDTTom Russell's 'Folk Hotel' keeps it simple, beautiful — and Hank Williams pays a visitSteve Knopperhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-tom-russell-0908-story.html
Tom Russell had a dream about Hank Williams Sr. and wrote a song about it. "I asked him, did he need a drink?" he sings. "He said, 'Son, you can take that to the bank.'"

But the song is only a bit about the great country songwriter. The rest is about Russell's family and history. There's a funny...

]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:05:00 PDTYour guide to the World Music FestivalAaron Cohenhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-world-music-festival-0908-story.html
Songs, languages and instruments from around the planet will be heard on stages citywide during the annual World Music Festival Chicago. Among the array of classical ensembles, dance bands and DJs, here are a few crucial artists: Ambi Subramaniam

Indian violinist Ambi Subramaniam’s deep resonance...

]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:05:00 PDTMelkbelly a noise-punk band with a differenceGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ae-fall-music-melkbelly-0910-story.html
The video for Melkbelly’s latest single, “Middle Of,” does its job almost too well: a vertigo-inducing house-of-horrors thrill ride of what it feels like to be inside one of the quartet’s songs. There’s the queasy sense of anxiety bleeding over into chaos, but there’s also something melodic and...
]]>Fri, 8 Sep 2017 07:10:00 PDTChicago's top fall concerts — from Riot Fest to Jay-ZGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ae-fall-rock-concerts-preview-0910-story.html
The festival season is winding down, and most of the concert action is moving indoors as autumn arrives. Here are 10 shows worth checking out:

Riot Fest: Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age and punk veterans Jawbreaker headline the festival, which spreads more than 60 bands across three days...

]]>Thu, 7 Sep 2017 10:48:00 PDTJamila Woods, Chance and CPS students make beautiful art with VAMDarcel Rocketthttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-jamila-woods-vam-studio-lsd-video-20170816-story.html
The first thing you have to know about VAM Studio, the hip production company now headquartered in Humboldt Park, is it’s not named after founder and creative director Vincent Martell.

The second thing you need to know is Martell and Sam Bailey: a young, gifted and black pair of creatives, is where...

]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 09:00:00 PDTEliane Elias digs deeply into the music of Brazil and jazzHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-eliane-elias-review-0911-story.html
The sounds of Brazil swept into Evanston on Friday evening, though imbued with the character of American jazz.

Brazilian singer-pianist Eliane Elias has been intertwining the two, to varying degrees, through most of her career, and during her first set at SPACE she very nearly erased lines separating...

]]>Sat, 9 Sep 2017 06:30:00 PDTQuincy Jones reflects on his career and relationship with Michael JacksonTim Greivinghttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-quincy-jones-bowl-20170905-story.html
Quincy Jones turned 84 in March, but said he feels like he’s 18.

“I stopped drinking two years ago. I feel like I’m just starting, man — it’s unbelievable. I come up with Ray Charles and Sinatra, so you know I knew how to do it,” he said, laughing, in a recent phone interview.

On Wednesday Jones’...

]]>Tue, 5 Sep 2017 17:45:00 PDTA Giant Dog defies cult-band burnoutGreg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-giant-dog-interview-0908-story.html
To be labeled a “cult band” can be both an admiring nod to resilient if underappreciated talent and a curse. Let’s face it, no one wants to be a great unknown for very long, but that’s been the fate of A Giant Dog for the last decade.

Singer Sabrina Ellis is as deadly honest in responding to questions...

]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:05:00 PDTL7 is back, with snarl, riffs and rage intactAllison Stewarthttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-l7-0908-story.html
The grunge revival comes for everybody, eventually, even L7. The pioneering all-female grunge-punk foursome had one hit album and single (1992's "Bricks are Heavy" and "Pretend We're Dead," respectively), and founded the influential feminist organization Rock For Choice, but otherwise never made...
]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:05:00 PDTCountry singer Jo Dee Messina announces cancer diagnosisAssociated Presshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-jo-dee-messina-cancer-20170906-story.html
Country singer Jo Dee Messina, whose hits include "I'm Alright" and "Bye Bye," announced Wednesday that she has cancer and will be postponing her 2017 show dates after Oct. 7.

A statement posted on her website didn't specify the kind of cancer the 47-year-old Messina has been diagnosed with, but...

]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 10:03:00 PDTThe jazz season gets into full swingHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-jazz-scene-0908-story.html
The 39th Chicago Jazz Festival is history, but the jazz season gets into full swing this weekend.

]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:15:00 PDTHolger Czukay, co-founder of Can, worked with Brian Eno, dies at 79Associated Presshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-holger-czukay-co-founder-of-can-worked-with-brian-eno-dies-at-79-20170906-story.html
Holger Czukay, the co-founder and bassist of avant-garde band Can and a one-time student of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, has been found dead. He was 79.

News agency dpa reported that police in Euskirchen, near Cologne, said Wednesday Czukay's body was found in an apartment in nearby Weilerswist....

]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:52:00 PDTDave Matthews Band, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande to perform at 'A Concert for Charlottesville'Jem Aswadhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-a-concert-for-charlottesville-lineup-20170906-story.html
In response to the racial-related violence in their hometown of Charlottesville, VA, Dave Matthews Band will host an evening of music that will be free for members of the Charlottesville and University of Virginia communities through an online request process, the band announced Wednesday morning....
]]>Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:30:00 PDTHerbie, Wynton and Cassandra head up a brisk jazz seasonHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ae-fall-jazz-preview-0910-story.html
Premieres, tributes and festivals crowd the fall jazz calendar:

]]>Thu, 7 Sep 2017 09:50:00 PDTClassical freebie at Wrigley parkJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-classical-freebie-at-wrigley-park-20170905-column.html
Having hosted a food fest and a movie night earlier this year, The Park at Wrigley has announced it will present its first free outdoor classical music event next month.

"The Line-Up," as the concert is called, will take place 2-4 p.m. Oct. 8 at the town square adjacent to the Cubs' stadium in...

]]>Tue, 5 Sep 2017 11:43:00 PDTSinger Andrea Marcovicci reflects on crossroads in her lifeHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-jazz-andrea-marcovicci-0906-story.html
The past year has been volatile for cabaret star Andrea Marcovicci.

Her mother, cabaret singer Helen Marcovicci, died in August 2016. Her daughter, Alice Reichert, graduated college in May 2017.

In effect, Andrea Marcovicci experienced generational life cycles most of us go through, but compressed...

The more retiring full-term member of the group, Becker was partnered with singer-keyboardist...

]]>Sun, 3 Sep 2017 07:25:00 PDTA bounteous autumn of new classical releasesJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-fall-classical-recordings-0910-story.html
Following are 10 of the more noteworthy classical recordings set for release this fall:

Voices of Defiance (Cedille). The Dover Quartet surveys string quartets from the Second World War era by Shostakovich, Viktor Ullmann and Szymon Laks.

Sir Georg Solti: The Chicago Years (Decca). The 108-CD box...

]]>Thu, 7 Sep 2017 10:48:00 PDTThe Top 10 classical music events of the fall in ChicagoJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ae-fall-classical-music-preview-0910-story.html
Where else besides Chicago can you catch, in the same season, a major celebration of Claudio Monteverdi’s operas — and, at the other end of the historical spectrum — festivals devoted to the pathbreaking musical modernism of Gyorgy Ligeti and Galina Ustvolskaya? Or, how about ballet-filled French...
]]>Thu, 7 Sep 2017 09:50:00 PDTJason Isbell fills Chicago Theatre with potency, passionBob Gendronhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-jason-isbell-review-0904-story.html
Jason Isbell captured the tone of what is happening across much of America on Friday at Chicago Theatre. Performing the first of a two-night stand, the singer-songwriter touched on politics without becoming overtly political or choosing sides. Addressing uncertainty and polarization through a wide-angle...
]]>Sat, 2 Sep 2017 05:50:00 PDTIllinois Philharmonic's new maestro seeks to 'change people's lives' through musicJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ae-fall-classical-stilian-kirov-0910-story.html
Stilian Kirov is a refreshing anomaly in an age of young conductors who regard each podium appointment as just another conquest to pad out their resumes.

The 33-year-old, Bulgarian-born conductor, who will lead his first concert as music director to kick off the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s...

]]>Thu, 7 Sep 2017 08:40:00 PDTLCD Soundsystem returns in a darker mood on 'American Dream'Greg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-music-lcd-soundsystem-review-0901-story.html
Here’s the thing about most comebacks: They’re rarely worth it, except to the artist’s bank account. So skepticism, if not downright cynicism, precedes LCD Soundsystem’s first album since 2010, a feeling compounded by LCD’s announcement that it was playing its “final” concert in 2011.

That’s a...

]]>Fri, 1 Sep 2017 12:15:00 PDTSZA bares her soul through smiles at Concord Music HallJoshua Kleinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-sza-review-0902-story.html
Had SZA decided to sit out a song at the Concord Music Hall on Thursday night, any number of women in the sold-out crowd could likely have hopped up on stage and recited it word for word in her place. No doubt, with starkly honest lyrics that tackle everything from loneliness and low self-esteem...
]]>Fri, 1 Sep 2017 07:10:00 PDTDon't miss these shows at the Chicago Jazz FestHoward Reichhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-jazz-scene-0901-20170825-story.html
The 39th Chicago Jazz Festival gets into high gear this weekend, with a marathon of performances and After Fest shows.

Following are one listener’s choices for the most promising sets of the fest, which is produced by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and programmed by...

]]>Wed, 30 Aug 2017 09:10:00 PDTNow that 'Sgt. Pepper' has been remixed and reissued, Ringo Starr shares his wish listRandy Lewishttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-ringo-starr-beatles-sgt-pepper-remix-white-album-20170831-story.html
The 50th anniversary remix and deluxe reissue of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was greeted with almost universal acclaim upon its release in May.

Long ranked as one of the most revolutionary and influential albums in rock history, the “Sgt. Pepper” reissue scored a perfect...

]]>Fri, 1 Sep 2017 05:00:00 PDTAlice Cooper to open showing of 'Wayne's World' in Millennium ParkJessi Rotihttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-alice-cooper-waynes-world-millennium-park-0831-story.html
The Godfather of Shock Rock, Alice Cooper will appear at Millennium Park Tuesday to introduce and discuss “Wayne’s World,” before the showing of the film at Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

City officials announced Cooper’s participation Wednesday, adding that the rocker will talk about his cameo in the...

]]>Thu, 31 Aug 2017 13:45:00 PDTDepeche Mode goes bigger, not always better, in Tinley ParkJoshua Kleinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-depeche-mode-review-0901-story.html
Back in the ’80s, when Depeche Mode was just a group of skinny Brits stationed behind rinky-dink synthesizers, the group proved you didn’t need to play rock music to be rock stars. It makes you wonder what the band then would make of the band today.

At the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley...

]]>Thu, 31 Aug 2017 05:40:00 PDTJason Isbell confronts 'monsters in the closet'Greg Kothttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-jason-isbell-0901-story.html
When Nashville resident Jason Isbell dubbed his latest album “The Nashville Sound,” he wasn’t just picking a fight with the powers-that-be that have redefined mainstream country as a kind of suburban rock-lite, full of cartoons in cowboy hats posing on pickup trucks. He was also embracing a possible...
]]>Thu, 31 Aug 2017 06:25:00 PDTJoan Osborne riding high on the songs of Bob DylanChrissie Dickinsonhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-joan-osborne-0901-story.html
It's morning in Brooklyn and Joan Osborne's cats are in a snit. The blues-rock singer was supposed to come home last night but wound up working late on a video shoot in upstate New York. When she finally drove back to the city she found herself stuck in traffic.

"I was late getting home, so now...

]]>Thu, 31 Aug 2017 06:30:00 PDTLyric Opera hits another out of the park with season preview concertJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-lyric-concert-review-0911-story.html
As Lyric Opera tasting menus go, Friday night’s concert bore a more direct connection to the season ahead than many such free community ventures the company has presented at Millennium Park.

As a matter of fact, the 17th annual Stars of Lyric Opera program in Jay Pritzker Pavilion previewed seven...

]]>Sat, 9 Sep 2017 09:30:00 PDTSkilled artists of song honor Schubert's bow to ancient Greek mythsJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-song-festival-review-0908-story.html
The connoisseurs’ genre of art song singing will never lack a forum in the city’s musical life as long as the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago is there to affirm its importance and promote its growth. The organization adhered to its noble cause with the opening song recital of its sixth...
]]>Thu, 7 Sep 2017 10:40:00 PDTRecommended Chicago-area classical concertsJohn von Rheinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-classical-corner-0908-story.html
Jory Vinikour: The Chicago-born harpsichordist and European early music star will perform solo keyboard works by Bach, Handel and Rameau, in his U.S. recital utilizing his own modern replica of a 1769 French Taskin instrument. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church, 1424 N. Dearborn;...
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